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Retirement is bad for your health, and your wealth

Insight: Older workers help create a stable, more productive society

By

PaulIrving

Retirement isn’t what it used to be. And that’s not a bad thing.

With longevity increasing, people are looking for more substance, engagement, income, meaning, and purpose for a new stage of life. Many are working longer, out of economic need or to enhance their financial cushion, to subsidize kids in school and in young adulthood, or to explore new careers and opportunities for civic and charitable involvement.

Whatever the motivation, it’s clear that the old model of retirement — days of decline and disengagement, a period of withdrawal and mass leisure — is thankfully on its way to being retired, as our goals and values change with the times. Research from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies found that two-thirds of baby boomers plan to work past age 65 or not to retire at all. And as the world moves toward its largest-ever population of older citizens, both scientific and financial opportunity offer an encouraging new path.

Working longer offers significant health benefits. Research shows that older people who remain mentally and physically active give themselves an immeasurable gift. Those who work and are active are less likely to develop diseases associated with aging. They have a greater possibility of living longer lives, mostly free from disability.

In fact, people who extend their years in the work world, whether for pay or volunteer activities, are more satisfied with life and have better mental well-being, less depression and higher cognitive performance, according to research. One study found that as few as 100 hours a year of work helps protect older people against poor health and early death.

What kind of work? Engaging, enjoyable and purposeful work. That should be the goal. Studies suggest that life satisfaction and quality of life are enhanced when people’s work fits with their priorities and preferences.

Which brings us back to financial security. Personal financial comfort can enable flexibility as people consider work options, priorities and purpose in their later years.

Financial well-being influences how people shape their work lives, whether it’s switching careers, learning new skills, or taking a different role in a company. Some will find fulfillment in socially focused “encore” careers involving passion, purpose and a paycheck. Some will parlay their employment skills into volunteer efforts. Others will create new businesses as entrepreneurs.

Work is good for self-esteem and for purposeful, financially secure, and healthy aging. And importantly, everyone benefits.

Yet far too many people are not prepared for a post-retirement world of opportunity and choice. Some failed to save and plan, perhaps due to lack of discipline, resources, education, or opportunity. Research shows that too few appreciate the importance of financial planning and the risks of failing to do so.

Just as living longer means more time to enjoy life, it also brings financial risk. The prospect of illness or disability cannot be discounted, and regardless of motivation, age will force many people to work less or differently than they did in their prime. Financial foresight is an important tool to enhance the breadth of work options — full- or part time, paid or volunteer — throughout this new stage of life.

Work is good for self-esteem and for purposeful, financially secure, and healthy aging. And importantly, everyone benefits. Older workers add experience, skill, wisdom and perspective to the workplace. They contribute to economic growth and help fill national, state and local tax coffers. They improve their communities through volunteer jobs, and enhance work teams and productivity through intergenerational collaboration and mentorship.

Paul Irving

Moreover, an active and healthier older population will reduce daunting cost burdens on the generations to come.

Business, government and the full range of our social institutions must celebrate and encourage older workers, facilitate their training and educational pursuits, confront age bias, and end discrimination. An aging population, meanwhile, should retire antiquated notions of retirement in favor of ongoing work and lifelong engagement that enhances the possibility of a better society, which after all is the most important promise of one generation to the next.

Paul Irving is president of the Milken Institute, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based think tank, and editor of The Upside of Aging, recently published by Wiley.

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